The Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adejugbe Adeyemo, has expressed joy and satisfaction that the yearly Udiroko Festival of the community is serving as springboard for developmental projects in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital and indeed the state.
Oba Adejugbe, who said that Udiroko Festival had, during his reign, been transformed into a tourism attraction, bringing visitors from far and near, said, “The influx of tourists not only enriches our cultural landscape, but also contributes significantly to our local economy, fostering opportunities for growth and prosperous development”.
The monarch, according to a statement from the palace on Saturday, spoke in his “message from the throne” on Wednesday during the 2025 Udiroko Festival, which showcased the community’s rich heritage and living proofs of its enduring cultural wherewithal.
He said, “Udiroko has long remained and still remains the springboard for many projects.”
The monarch listed the projects which the festival had attracted to include the modern Palace of the Ewi, the construction of the Great Fajuyi Hall, the building of the Administrative block of Ekiti State University’s Faculty of Law, and the nearly completed Modern Podium, which he described as “an architectural masterpiece befitting of the Ewi’s Palace, throne and dynasty.
He said that the over 800 years old Udiroko Festival, which represented Ado Ekiti’s new calendar year, had grown into “an inspiration for unity and the symbol of our uniqueness as a people, drawing together Ado Ekiti sons and daughters and their friends from all over the world.
“As we modernise Udiroko Festival, we are taking complementary steps to consistently document and safeguard our traditions, to revere the legacies of our ancestors for the current paradigm and subsequent inter-generational knowledge of our sons and daughters yet unborn,” he said.
Oba Adejugbe, who said that all indices had shown that President Bola Tinubu was patriotically determined to bring Nigeria back to the path of governance sanity, appealed to Nigerians “to endure the pains that may be or are engendered from time to time by the bold critical socio-political and economic focus and initiatives of our President.”
He, however, called in the Federal Government “to make requisite measures targeting the trauma and demands of the citizenry critical parts of its policy agenda moving forward”.
The Ewi expressed Ekiti people’s appreciation to Tinubu for the awards of contracts for Ado Ekiti -Ikare Road, Ado Ekiti – Akure Road and Ado Ekiti – Itawure Road adding, “Our appeal to Your Excellency is to ensure that funds are released to the contractors for the commencement and completion of these roads which are currently in bad shapes.”
The monarch also hailed Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji “for his unwavering focus in governance, with visible impact in the socio-political, economic and cultural life of the state. Governor Oyebanji is living up to the expectations of the founding fathers of Ekiti State through responsive service delivery to the people.
“The governor has constantly shown genuine love and regard for the sustenance of our cultural values and tradition prior to his election. Since the commencement of his tenure as the people’s governor, he has been completely remarkable and worthy of emulation by all the forward-looking and people-oriented political actors in all the strata of our political space and its landscapes.”
Oba Adejugbe, who prayed for peace in Ekiti State before, during and after the 2026 governorship election, appealed to the political actors in the state that “they should and must avoid apolitical behaviours, do-or-die politicking, movements against the peoples’ preference for their expedient ends.
“They must imbibe the spirit of fairness and decent political socialisation in ways that do not forsake the peoples’ interest through which Ekiti State and, by extension, Nigeria will know peace and be stable,” Oba Adejugbe said.
Among dignitaries at the festival are Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji; and former governors Niyi Adebayo and Ayodele Fayose.
